The right tools are an integral part of getting any job done. In the world of digital content tools are plentiful, so finding the right one for you can be tricky. That's why we ask the experts what tools they use to get their jobs done. In this month's installment, we talk to Ashley Taylor Anderson, Director of Content, Ceros.

Springer Relaunches Online Platform

Springer Science+Business Media, a science, technology, and medicine book publisher, has launched the final version of its new online platform, SpringerLink. The platform gives students and researchers electronic access to the recently launched Springer eBook Collection. The Collection consists of more than 11,000 eBooks--to which approximately 3,000 new titles will be added each year.

The new SpringerLink, launched in beta version earlier this summer, integrates Springer content in one single user interface--more than 11,000 ebooks, millions of articles from Springer's peer-reviewed journals as well as ereference works. In addition, SpringerLink features a new search engine to help researchers, librarians, and students find information they need. Users can also enhance their research via the "My SpringerLink" personalization features which include, saved searches, RSS feeds of searches, saved articles and ebooks, etc. Springer will allow unlimited simultaneous access to ebooks for members of the purchasing library community. The ebooks' PDF and HTML documents are fully searchable and can be downloaded and printed. In addition, once a library purchases Springer's ebook collection, they own the book content for their use in perpetuity. Libraries can purchase a complete collection of all Springer titles from a copyright year or they can choose to purchase one or more of 12 distinct topic categories (e.g., engineering, medicine, computer science, mathematics, etc.). Individual ebooks are available from retail partners.

Springer's new ebooks program will link to the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), an instructional tool that enables students to search a library's catalog from a computer station either in the library, or from an off-site computer. Finally, Springer has incorporated library and information standards into the new SpringerLink, including COUNTER Compliant, CLOCKSS Member, MARC 21 Records, Portico, and Federated Searching Compliant.